Chapter C: Marriott." (8)

"He belonged to Mr. ---- a Frenchman, ran-away, was caught, and punished with one hundred lashes! This happened about Christmas; and during the cold weather at that time, he was confined in the _Cane-house, with a scanty portion of clothing, and without fire_. In this situation his foot had frozen, and mortified, and having been removed from place to place, he was yesterday brought here by order of his new master, who was an American. I had no time to protract my conversation with him then, but resolved to return in a few hours and pray with him.

"Having returned home, I again visited the hospital at half past eleven o'clock, and concluded first of all [he was to preach at 12,] to pray with the poor lacerated negro. I entered the apartment in which he lay, and observed an old man sitting upon a couch; but, without saying anything went up to the bed-side of the negro, who appeared to be asleep. I spoke to him, but he gave no answer. I spoke again, and moved his head, still he said nothing. My apprehensions were immediately excited, and I felt for his pulse, but it was gone. Said I to the old man, 'surely this negro is dead.' 'No,' he answered, 'he has fallen asleep, for he had a very restless season last night.' I again examined and called the old gentleman to the bed, and alas, it was found true, that he was dead. Not an eye had witnessed his last struggle, and I was the first, as it should happen, to discover the fact. I called several men into the room, and without ceremony they wrapped him in a sheet, and carried him to the _dead-house_ as it is called."--Edwards' Life of Rev. Elias Cornelius, pp. 101, 2, 3.

THE PROTECTION EXTENDED BY 'PUBLIC OPINION,' TO THE HEALTH[38] OF THE SLAVES.

This may be judged of from the fact that it is perfectly notorious among slaveholders, both North and South, that of the tens of thousands of slaves sold annually in the northern slave states to be transported to the south, large numbers of them die under the severe, process of acclimation, _all_ suffer more or less, and multitudes _much_, in their health and strength, during their first years in the far south and south west. That such is the case is sufficiently proved by the care taken by all who advertise for sale or hire in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, &c. to inform the reader, that their slaves are 'Creoles,' 'southern born,' 'country born,' &c. or if they are from the north, that they are 'acclimated,' and the importance attached to their _acclimation_, is shown in the fact, that it is generally distinguished from the rest of the advertisements either by _italics_ or CAPITALS. Almost every newspaper published in the states far south contains advertisements like the following.

[Footnote 38: See pp. 37-39.]

From the "Vicksburg (Mi.) Register," Dec. 27, 1838.

"I OFFER my plantation for sale. Also seventy-five _acclimated Negroes_. O.B. COBB."

From the "Southerner," June 7, 1837.

"I WILL sell my Old-River plantation near Columbia in Arkansas;--also ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ACCLIMATED SLAVES.

BENJ. HUGHES." _Port Gibson, Jan. 14, 1837._

From the "Planters' (La.) Intelligencer," March 22.

"Probate sale--Will be offered for sale at Public Auction, to the highest bidder, ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY _acclimated_ slaves."

G.W. KEETON. Judge of the Parish of Concordia"

From the "Arkansas Advocate," May 22, 1837.

"By virtue of a Deed of Trust, executed to me, I will sell at public auction at Fisher's Prairie, Arkansas, sixty LIKELY NEGROES, consisting of Men, Women, Boys and Girls, the most of whom are WELL ACCLIMATED.

GRANDISON D. ROYSTON, _Trustee_."

From the "New Orleans Bee," Feb. 9, 1838.

"VALUABLE ACCLIMATED NEGROES"

"Will be sold on Saturday, 10th inst. at 12 o'clock, at the city exchange, St. Louis street."

Then follows a description of the slaves, closing with the same assertion, which forms the caption of the advertisement "ALL ACCLIMATED."

General Felix Houston, of Natchez, advertises in the "Natchez Courier," April 6, 1838, "Thirty five very fine _acclimated_ Negroes."

Without inserting more advertisements, suffice it to say, that when slaves are advertised for sale or hire, in the lower southern country, if they are _natives_, or have lived in that region long enough to become acclimated, it is _invariably_ stated.

But we are not left to _conjecture_ the amount of suffering experienced by slaves from the north in undergoing the severe process of 'seasoning' to the climate, or '_acclimation_' A writer in the New Orleans Argus, September, 1830, in an article on the culture of the sugar cane, says; 'The loss by _death_ in bringing slaves from a northern climate, which our planters are under the necessity of doing, is not less than TWENTY-FIVE PER CENT.'

Nothwithstanding the immense amount of suffering endured in the process of acclimation, and the fearful waste of life, and the _notoriety_ of this fact, still the 'public opinion' of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, &c. annually DRIVES to the far south, thousands of their slaves to undergo these sufferings, and the 'public opinion,' of the far south buys them, and forces the helpless victims to endure them.

THE 'PROTECTION' VOUCHSAFED BY 'PUBLIC OPINION,' TO LIBERTY.

This is shown by hundreds of advertisements in southern papers, like the following:

From the "Mobile Register," July 21. 1837. "WILL BE SOLD CHEAP FOR CASH, in front of the Court House of Mobile County, on the 22d day of July next, one mulatto man named HENRY HALL, WHO SAYS HE IS FREE; his owner or owners, _if any_, having failed to demand him, he is to be sold according to the statute in such cases made and provided, _to pay Jail fees._

WM. MAGEE, Sh'ff M.C."

From the "Grand Gulf (Miss.) Advertiser," Dec. 7, 1838.

"COMMITTED to the jail of Chickasaw Co. Edmund, Martha, John and Louisa; the man 50, the woman 35, John 3 years old, and Louisa 14 months. They say they are FREE and were decoyed to this state."

The "Southern Argus," of July 25, 1837, contains the following.

"RANAWAY from my plantation, a negro boy named William. Said boy was taken up by Thomas Walton, and says _he was free_, and that his parents live near Shawneetown, Illinois, and that he was _taken_ from that place in July 1836; says his father's name is William, and his mother's Sally Brown, and that they moved from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I will give twenty dollars to any person who will deliver said boy to me or Col. Byrn, Columbus. SAMUEL H. BYRN"

The first of the following advertisements was a standing one, in the "Vicksburg Register," from Dec. 1835 till Aug. 1836. The second advertises the same FREE man for sale.

"SHERIFF'S SALE" "COMMITTED, to the jail of Warren county, as a Runaway, on the 23d inst. a Negro man, who calls himself John J. Robinson; _says that he is free_, says that he kept a baker's shop in Columbus, Miss. and that he peddled through the Chickasaw nation to Pontotoc, and came to Memphis, where he sold his horse, took water, and came to this place. The owner of said boy is requested to come forward, prove property, pay charges, and take him away, or he will be dealt with as the law directs.

WM. EVERETT, Jailer. Dec. 24, 1835"

"NOTICE is hereby given, that the above described boy, who calls himself John J. Robinson, having been confined in the Jail of Warren county as a Runaway, for six months--and having been regularly advertised during this period, I shall proceed to sell said Negro boy at public auction, to the highest bidder for cash, at the door of the Court House in Vicksburg, on Monday, 1st day of August, 1836, in pursuance of the statute in such cases made and provided.

E. W. MORRIS, Sheriff. _Vicksburg, July 2, 1836._"

See "Newborn (N.C.) Spectator," of Jan. 5, 1838, for the following advertisement.

"RANAWAY, from the subscriber a negro man known as Frank Pilot. He is five feet eight inches high, dark complexion, and about 50 years old, _HAS BEEN FREE SINCE_ 1829--is now my property, as heir at law of his last owner, _Samuel Ralston_, dec. I will give the above reward if he is taken and confined in any jail so that I can get him.

SAMUEL RALSTON. Pactolus, Pitt County."

From the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) "Flag of the Union," June 7.

"COMMITTED to the jail of Tuscaloosa county, a negro man, who says his name is Robert Winfield, and _says he is free_.

R.W. BARBER, _Jailer_."

That "public opinion," in the slave states affords no protection to the liberty of colored persons, even after those persons become legally free, by the operation of their own laws, is declared by Governor Comegys, of Delaware, in his recent address to the Legislature of that state, Jan. 1839. The Governor, commenting upon the law of the state which provides that persons convicted of certain crimes shall be sold as servants for a limited time, says,

"_The case is widely different with the negro(!)_ Although ordered to be disposed of as a servant for a term of years, _perpetual slavery in the south is his inevitable doom_; unless, peradventure, age or disease may have rendered him worthless, or some resident of the State, from motives of _benevolence_, will pay for him three or four times his intrinsic _value_. It matters not for how short a time he is ordered to be sold, so that he can be carried from the State. Once beyond its limits, _all chance of restored freedom is gone_--for he is removed far from the reach of any testimony to aid him in an effort to be released from bondage, when his _legal_ term of servitude has expired. _Of the many colored convicts sold out of the State, it is believed none ever return_. Of course they are purchased _with the express view to their transportation for life_, and bring such enormous prices as to prevent all _competition_ on the part of those of our citizens who _require_ their services, and _would keep them in the State_."

From the "Memphis (Ten.) Enquirer," Dec. 28, 1838.

"$50 REWARD. Ranaway, from the subscriber, on Thursday last, a negro man named Isaac, 22 years old, about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches high, dark complexion, well made, full face, speaks quick, and very correctly for a negro. _He was originally from New-York_, and no doubt will attempt to pass himself as free. I will give the above reward for his apprehension and delivery, or confinement, so that I obtain him, if taken out of the state, or $30 if taken within the state.

JNO. SIMPSON. _Memphis, Dec. 28._"

Mark, with what shameless hardihood this JNO. SIMPSON, tells the public that _he knew_ Isaac Wright was a free man! 'HE WAS ORIGINALLY FROM NEW YORK,' he tells us. And yet he adds with brazen effrontery, '_he will attempt to pass himself as free._' This Isaac Wright, was shipped by a man named Lewis, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and sold as a slave in New Orleans. After passing through several hands, and being flogged nearly to death, he made his escape, and five days ago, (March 5,) returned to his friends in Philadelphia.

From the "Baltimore Sun," Dec. 23, 1838.

"FREE NEGROES--Merry Ewall, a FREE NEGRO, from Virginia, was committed to jail, at Snow Hill, Md. last week, for remaining in the State longer than is allowed by the law of 1831. The fine in his case amounts to $225. Capril Purnell, a negro from Delaware, is now in jail in the same place, for a violation of the same act. His fine amounts to FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS, and he WILL BE SOLD IN A SHORT TIME."

The following is the decision of the Supreme Court, of Louisiana, in the case of Gomez _vs_. Bonneval, Martin's La. Reports, 656, and Wheeler's "Law of Slavery," p. 380-1.

_Marginal remark of the Compiler.--"A slave does not become free on his being illegally imported into the state."_

"_Per Cur. Derbigny_, J. The petitioner is a negro in actual state of slavery; he claims his freedom, and is bound to prove it. In his attempt, however, to show that he was free before he was introduced into this country, he has failed, so that his claim rests entirely on the laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves in the United States. That the plaintiff was imported since that prohibition does exist is a fact sufficiently established by the evidence. What right he has acquired under the laws forbidding such importation is the only question which we have to examine. Formerly, while the act dividing Louisiana into two territories was in force in this country, slaves introduced here in contravention to it, were freed by operation of law; but that act was merged in the legislative provisions which were subsequently enacted on the subject of importation of slaves into the United States generally. Under the now existing laws, the individuals thus imported acquire _no personal right_, they are mere passive beings, who are disposed of _according to the will_ of the different state legislatures. In this country they are to _remain slaves_, and TO BE SOLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE STATE. The plaintiff, therefore, has nothing to claim as a freeman; and as to a mere change of master, should such be his wish, _he cannot be listened to in a court of justice_."

Extract from a speech of Mr. Thomson of Penn. in Congress, March 1, 1826, on the prisons in the District of Columbia.

"I visited the prisons twice that I might myself ascertain the truth. * * In one of these cells (but eight feet square,) were confined at that time, seven persons, three women and four children. The children were confined under a strange system of law in this District, by which a colored person who _alleges_ HE IS FREE, and appeals to the tribunals of the country, to have the matter tried, is COMMITTED TO PRISON, till the decision takes place. They were almost naked--one of them was sick, lying on the damp brick floor, _without bed, pillow, or covering_. In this abominable cell, seven human beings were confined day by day, and night after night, without a bed, chair, or stool, or any other of the most common necessaries of life."--_Gales' Congressional Debates_, v.2, p. 1480.

The following facts serve to show, that the present generation of slaveholders do but follow in the footsteps of their fathers, in their zeal for LIBERTY.

Extract from a document submitted by the Committee of the yearly meeting of Friends in Philadelphia, to the Committee of Congress, to whom was referred the memorial of the people called Quakers, in 1797.

"In the latter part of the year 1776, several of the people called Quakers, residing in the counties of Perquimans and Pasquotank, in the state of North Carolina, liberated their negroes, as it was then clear there was no existing law to prevent their so doing; for the law of 1741 could not at that time be carried into effect; and they were suffered to remain free, until a law passed, in the spring of 1777, under which they were taken up and sold, contrary to the Bill of Rights, recognized in the constitution of that state, as a part thereof, and to which it was annexed.

"In the spring of 1777, when the General Assembly met for the first time, a law was enacted to prevent slaves from being emancipated, except for meritorious services, &c. to be judged of by the county courts or the general assembly; and ordering, that if any should be manumitted in any other way, they be taken up, and the county courts within whose jurisdictions they are apprehended should order them to be sold. Under this law the county courts of Perquimans and Pasquotank, in the year 1777, ordered A LARGE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO BE SOLD, WHO WERE FREE AT THE TIME THE LAW WAS MADE. In the year 1778 several of those cases were, by certiorari, brought before the superior court for the district of Edentorn, where the decisions of the county courts were reversed, the superior court declaring, that said county courts, in such their proceedings, have exceeded their jurisdiction, violated the rights of the subject, and acted in direct opposition to the Bill of Rights of this state, considered justly as part of the constitution thereof; by giving to a law, not intended to affect this case, a retrospective operation, thereby to deprive free men of this state of their liberty, contrary to the laws of the land. In consequence of this decree several of the negroes were again set at liberty; but the next General Assembly, early in 1779, passed a law, wherein they mention, that doubts have arisen, whether the purchasers of such slaves have a good and legal title thereto, and CONFIRM the same; under which they were again taken up by the purchasers and reduced to slavery."

[The number of persons thus re-enslaved was 134.]

The following are the decrees of the Courts, ordering the sale of those freemen:--

"Perquimans County, July term, at Hartford, A.D. 1777.

"These may certify, that it was then and there ordered, that the sheriff of the county, to-morrow morning, at ten o'clock, expose to sale, to the highest bidder, for ready money, at the court-house door, the several negroes taken up as free, and in his custody, agreeable to law.

"Test. WM. SKINNER, Clerk. "A true copy, 25th August, 1791. "Test. J. HARVEY, Clerk."

"Pasquotank County, September Court, &c. &c. 1777.

"Present, the Worshipful Thomas Boyd, Timothy Hickson, John Paelin, Edmund Clancey, Joseph Reading, and Thomas Rees, Esqrs. Justices.

"It was then and there ordered, that Thomas Reading, Esq. take the FREE negroes taken up under an act to prevent domestic insurrections and other purposes, and expose the same to _the best bidder_, at public vendue, for ready money, and be accountable for the same, agreeable to the aforesaid act; and make return to this or the next succeeding court of his proceedings.

"A copy. ENOCH REESE, C.C."

THE PROTECTION OF "PUBLIC OPINION" TO DOMESTICS TIES.

The barbarous indifference with which slaveholders regard the forcible sundering of husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and the unfeeling brutality indicated by the language in which they describe the efforts made by the slaves, in their yearnings after those from whom they have been torn away, reveals a 'public opinion' towards them as dead to their agony as if they were cattle. It is well nigh impossible to open a southern paper without finding evidence of this. Though the truth of this assertion can hardly be called in question, we subjoin a few illustrations, and could easily give hundreds.

From the "Savannah Georgian," Jan. 17, 1839. "$100 reward will be given for my two fellows, Abram and Frank. Abram has a _wife_ at Colonel Stewart's, in Liberty county, and a _sister_ in Savannah, at Capt. Grovenstine's. Frank has a _wife_ at Mr. Le Cont's, Liberty county; a _mother_ at Thunderbolt, and a _sister_ in Savannah.

WM. ROBARTS. Wallhourville, 5th Jan. 1839"

From the "Lexington (Ky.) Intelligencer." July 7, 1838.

"$160 Reward.--Ranaway from the subscribers living in this city, on Saturday 16th inst. a negro man, named Dick, about 37 years of age. It is highly probable said boy will make for New Orleans as _he has a wife_ living in that city, and he has been heard to say frequently that _he was determined to go to New Orleans_.

"DRAKE C. THOMPSON. "Lexington, June 17, 1838"

From the "Southern Argus," Oct. 31, 1837.

"Runaway--my negro man, Frederick, about 20 years of age. He is no doubt near the plantation of G.W. Corprew, Esq of Noxubbee County, Mississippi, as _his wife belongs to that gentleman, and he followed her from my residence_. The above reward will be paid to any one who will confine him in jail and inform me of it at Athens, Ala. "Athens, Alabama. KERKMAN LEWIS."

From the "Savannah Georgian," July 8, 1837.

"Ran away from the subscriber, his man Joe. He visits the city occasionally, where he has been harbored by his _mother_ and _sister_. I will give one hundred dollars for proof sufficient to _convict his harborers_. R.P.T. MONGIN."

The "Macon (Georgia) Messenger," Nov. 23, 1837, has the following:--

"$25 Reward.--Ran away, a negro man, named Cain. He was brought from Florida, and _has a wife near Mariana_, and probably will attempt to make his way there. H.L. COOK."

From the "Richmond (Va.) Whig," July 25, 1837.

"Absconded from the subscriber, a negro man, by the name of Wilson. He was born in the county of New Kent, and raised by a gentleman named Ratliffe, and by him sold to a gentleman named Taylor, on whose farm he had a _wife_ and _several children_. Mr. Taylor sold him to a Mr. Slater, who, in consequence of removing to Alabama, Wilson left; and when retaken was sold, and afterwards purchased, by his present owner, from T. McCargo and Co. of Richmond."

From the "Savannah (Ga. ) Republican," Sept. 3, 1838.

"$20 Reward for my negro man Jim.--Jim is about 50 or 55 years of age. It is probable he will aim for Savannah, as he said _he had children_ in that vicinity.

J.G. OWENS. Barnwell District, S.C."

From the "Staunton (Va.) Spectator," Jan. 3, 1839.

"Runaway, Jesse.--He has a _wife_, who belongs to Mr. John Ruff, of Lexington, Rockbridge county, and he may probably be lurking in that neighborhood. MOSES McCUE."

From the "Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle," July 10, 1837.

"$120 Reward for my negro Charlotte. She is about 20 years old. She was purchased some months past from Mr. Thomas. J. Walton, of Augusta, by Thomas W. Oliver; and, as her _mother_ and acquaintances live in that city, it is very likely she is _harbored_ by some of them. MARTHA OLIVER."

From the "Raleigh (N.C.) Register," July 18, 1837.

Ranaway from the subscriber, a negro man named Jim, the property of Mrs. Elizabeth Whitfield. He _has a wife_ at the late Hardy Jones', and may probably be lurking in that neighborhood. JOHN O'RORKE."

From the "Richmond (Va.) Compiler," Sept. 8, 1837.

"Ranaway from the subscriber, Ben. He ran off without any known cause, and _I suppose he is aiming to go to his wife, who was carried from the neighborhood last winter_. JOHN HUNT."

From the "Charleston (S.C.) Mercury," Aug. 1, 1837.

"Absconded from Mr. E.D. Bailey, on Wadmalaw, his negro man, named Saby. Said fellow was purchased in January, from Francis Dickinson, of St. Paul's parish, and is probably now in that neighborhood, _where he has a wife_. THOMAS N. GADSDEN."

From the "Portsmouth (Va.) Times," August 3, 1838.

"$50 dollars Reward will be given for the apprehension of my negro man Isaac. He _has a wife_ at James M. Riddick's, of Gates county, N.C. where he may probably be lurking. C. MILLER."

From the "Savannah (Georgia) Republican." May 24, 1838.

"$40 Reward.--Ran away from the subscriber in Savannah, his negro girl Patsey. She was purchased among the gang of negroes, known as the Hargreave's estate. She is no doubt lurking about Liberty county, at which place _she has relatives_. EDWARD HOUSTOUN, of Florida"

From the "Charleston (S.C.) Courier," June 29, 1837.

"$20 Reward will be paid for the apprehension and delivery, at the workhouse in Charleston, of a mulatto woman, named Ida. It is probable she may have made her way into Georgia, where she has _connections_. MATTHEW MUGGRIDGE."

From the "Norfolk (Va.) Beacon," March 31, 1838.

"The subscriber will give $20 for the apprehension of his negro woman, Maria, who ran away about twelve months since. She is known to be lurking in or about Chuckatuch, in the county of Nansemond, where _she has a husband_, and _formerly belonged_. PETER ONEILL."

From the "Macon (Georgia) Messenger," Jan. 16, 1839.

"Ranaway from the subscriber, two negroes, Davis, a man about 45 years old; also Peggy, his wife, near the same age. Said negroes will probably make their way to Columbia county, as _they have children_ living in that county. I will liberally reward any person who may deliver them to me. NEHEMIAH KING."

From the "Petersburg (Va.) Constellation," June 27, 1837.

"Ranaway, a negro man, named Peter. _He has a wife_ at the plantation of Mr. C. Haws, near Suffolk, where it is supposed he is still lurking. JOHN L. DUNN."

From the "Richmond (Va.) Whig," Dec. 7, 1739.

"Ranaway from the subscriber, a negro man, named John Lewis. It is supposed that he is lurking about in New Kent county, where he professes to have a _wife_. HILL JONES, Agent for R.F. & P. Railroad Co."

From the "Red River (La.) Whig," June 2d, 1838.

"Ran away from the subscriber, a mulatto woman, named Maria. It is probable she may be found in the neighborhood of Mr. Jesse Bynum's plantation, where _she has relations_, &c. THOMAS J. WELLS."

From the "Lexington (Ky.) Observer and Reporter," Sept. 28, 1838.

"$50 Reward.--Ran away from the subscriber, a negro girl, named Maria. She is of a copper color, between 13 and 14 years of age--_bare headed_ and _bare footed_. She is small of her age--very sprightly and very likely. She stated she was _going to see her mother_ at Maysville. SANFORD THOMSON."

From the "Jackson (Tenn.) Telegraph," Sept. 14, 1838.

"Committed to the jail of Madison county, a negro woman, who calls her name Fanny, and says she belongs to William Miller, of Mobile. She formerly belonged to John Givins, of this county, who now owns _several of her children_. DAVID SHROPSHIRE, Jailor."

From the "Norfolk (Va.) Beacon," July 3d, 1838.

"Runaway from my plantation below Edenton, my negro man, Nelson. _He has a mother living_ at Mr. James Goodwin's, in Ballahack, Perquimans county; and _two brothers_, one belonging to Job Parker, and the other to Josiah Coffield. WM. D. RASCOE."

From the "Charleston (S.C.) Courier," Jan. 12, 1838.

"$100 Reward.--Run away from the subscriber, his negro fellow, John. He is well known about the city as one of my bread carriers: _has a wife_ living at Mrs. Weston's, on Hempstead. John formerly belonged to Mrs. Moor, near St. Paul's church, where his _mother_ still lives, and _has been harbored by her_ before.

JOHN T. MARSHALL. 60, Tradd street."

From the "Newbern (N.C.) Sentinel," March 17, 1837.

"Ranaway, Moses, a black fellow, about 40 years of age--has a _wife_ in Washington.

THOMAS BRAGG, Sen. Warrenton, N.C."

From the "Richmond (Va.) Whig," June 30, 1837.

"Ranaway, my man Peter.--He has a _sister_ and _mother_ in New Kent, and a _wife_ about fifteen or eighteen miles above Richmond, at or about Taylorsville. THEO. A. LACY."

From the "New Orleans Bulletin," Feb. 7, 1838.

"Ranaway, my negro Philip, aged about 40 years.--He may have gone to St. Louis, as _he has a wife there_. W.G. CLARK, 70 New Levee."

From the "Georgian," Jan. 29, 1838.

"A Reward of $5 will be paid for the apprehension of his negro woman, Diana. Diana is from 45 to 50 age. She formerly belonged to Mr. Nath. Law, of Liberty county, _where her husband still lives_. She will endeavor to go there perhaps. D. O'BYRNE."

From the "Richmond (Va.) Enquirer," Feb. 20, 1838.

"$10 Reward for a negro woman, named Sally, 40 years old. We have just reason to believe the said negro to be now lurking on the James River Canal, or in the Green Spring neighborhood, where, we are informed, _her husband resides_. The above reward will be given to any person _securing_ her.

POLLY C. SHIELDS. Mount Elba, Feb. 19, 1838."

"$50 Reward.--Ran away from the subscriber, his negro man Pauladore, commonly called Paul. I understand GEN. R.Y. HAYNE _has purchased his wife and children_ from H.L. PINCKNEY, Esq. and has them now on his plantation at Goosecreek, where, no doubt, the fellow is frequently _lurking_. T. DAVIS."

"$25 Reward.--Ran away from the subscriber, a negro woman, named Matilda. It is thought she may be somewhere up James River, as she was claimed as _a wife_ by some boatman in Goochland. J. ALVIS."

"Stop the Runaway!!!--$25 Reward. Ranaway from the Eagle Tavern, a negro fellow, named Nat. He is no doubt attempting to _follow his wife, who was lately sold to a speculator_ named Redmond. The above reward will be paid by Mrs. Lucy M. Downman, of Sussex county, Va."

Multitudes of advertisements like the above appear annually in the southern papers. Reader, look at the preceding list--mark the unfeeling barbarity with which their masters and _mistresses_ describe the struggles and perils of sundered husbands and wives, parents and children, in their weary midnight travels through forests and rivers, with torn limbs and breaking hearts, seeking the embraces of each other's love. In one instance, a mother torn from all her children and taken to a remote part of another state, presses her way back through the wilderness, hundreds of miles, to clasp once more her children to her heart: but, when she has arrived within a few miles of them, in the same county, is discovered, seized, dragged to jail, and her purchaser told, through an advertisement, that she awaits his order. But we need not trace out the harrowing details already before the reader.

Rev. C.S. RENSHAW, of Quincy, Illinois, who resided some time in Kentucky, says;--

"I was told the following fact by a young lady, daughter of a slaveholder in Boone county, Kentucky, who lived within half a mile of Mr. Hughes' farm. Hughes and Neil traded in slaves down the river: they had bought up a part of their stock in the upper counties of Kentucky, and brought them down to Louisville, where the remainder of their drove was in jail, waiting their arrival. Just before the steamboat put off for the lower country, two negro women were offered for sale, each of them having a young child at the breast. The traders bought them, took their babes from their arms, and offered them to the highest bidder; and they were sold for one dollar apiece, whilst the stricken parents were driven on board the boat; and in an hour were on their way to the New Orleans market. You are aware that a young babe _decreases_ the value of a field hand in the lower country, whilst it increases her value in the 'breeding states.'"

The following is an extract from an address, published by the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky, to the churches under their care, in 1835:--

"Brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives, are _torn asunder_, and permitted to see each other no more. These acts are DAILY occurring in the midst of us. The _shrieks_ and the _agony, often_ witnessed on such occasions, proclaim, with a trumpet tongue, the iniquity of our system. _There is not a neighborhood_ where these heart-rending scenes are not displayed. _There is not a village or road_ that does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, whose mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by _force_ from ALL THAT THEIR HEARTS HOLD DEAR."--_Address_, p. 12.

Professor ANDREWS, late of the University of North Carolina, in his recent work on Slavery and the Slave Trade, page 147, in relating a conversation with a slave-trader, whom he met near Washington City, says, he inquired,

"'Do you _often_ buy the wife without the husband?' 'Yes, VERY OFTEN; and FREQUENTLY, too, they _sell me the mother while they keep her children. I have often known them take away the infant from its mother's breast, and keep it, while they sold her_.'"

The following sale is advertised in the "Georgia Journal," Jan, 2, 1838.

"Will be sold, the following PROPERTY, to wit: One ---- CHILD, by the name of James, _about eight months old_, levied on as the property of Gabriel Gunn."

The following is a standing advertisement in the Charleston (S.C.) papers:--

"120 Negroes for Sale--The subscriber has _just arrived from Petersburg, Virginia_, with one hundred and twenty _likely young_ negroes of both sexes and every description, which he offers for sale on the most reasonable terms.

"The lot now on hand consists of plough boys several likely and well-qualified house servants of both sexes, several _women with children, small girls_ suitable for nurses, and several SMALL BOYS WITHOUT THEIR MOTHERS. Planters and traders are earnestly requested to give the subscriber a call previously to making purchases elsewhere, as he is enabled and will sell as cheap, or cheaper, than can be sold by any other person in the trade. BENJAMIN DAVIS. Hamburg, S.C. Sept. 28, 1838."

Extract Of a letter to a member of Congress from a friend in Mississippi, published in the "Washington Globe," June, 1837.

"The times are truly alarming here. Many plantations _are entirely stripped of negroes_ (protection!) and horses, by the marshal or sheriff.--Suits are multiplying--two thousand five hundred in the United States Circuit Court, and three thousand in Hinds County Court."

Testimony of MR. SILAS STONE, of Hudson, New York. Mr. Stone is a member of the Episcopal Church, has several times been elected an Assessor of the city of Hudson, and for three years has filled the office of Treasurer of the County. In the fall of 1807, Mr. Stone witnessed a sale of slaves, in Charleston, South Carolina, which he thus describes in a communication recently received from him.

"I saw droves of the poor fellows driven to the slave markets kept in different parts of the city, one of which I visited. The arrangements of this place appeared something like our northern horse-markets, having sheds, or barns, in the rear of a public house, where alcohol was a handy ingredient to stimulate the spirit of jockeying. As the traders appeared, lots of negroes were brought from the stables into the bar room, and by a flourish of the whip were made to assume an active appearance. 'What will you give for these fellows?' 'How old are they? 'Are they healthy?' 'Are they quick?' &c. at the same time the owner would give them a cut with a cowhide, and tell them to dance and jump, cursing and swearing at them if they did not move quick. In fact all the transactions in buying and selling slaves, partakes of jockey-ship, as much as buying and selling horses. There was as little regard paid to the feelings of the former as we witness in the latter.

"From these scenes I turn to another, which took place in front of the noble 'Exchange Buildings,' in the heart of the city. On the left side of the steps, as you leave the main hall, immediately under the windows of that proud building, was a stage built, on which a mother with eight children were placed, and sold at auction. I watched their emotions closely, and saw their feelings were in accordance to human nature. The sale began with the eldest child, who, being struck off to the highest bidder, was taken from the stage or platform by the purchaser, and led to his wagon and stowed away, to be carried into the country; the second, and third were also sold, and so until seven of the children were torn from their mother, while her discernment told her they were to be separated probably forever, causing in that mother the most agonizing sobs and cries, in which the children seemed to share. The scene beggars description; suffice it to say, it was sufficient to cause tears from one at least 'whose skin was not colored like their own,' and I was not ashamed to give vent to them."

THE "PROTECTION" AFFORDED BY "PUBLIC OPINION" TO CHILDHOOD AND OLD AGE.

In the "New Orleans Bee," May 31, 1837, MR. P. BAHI, gives notice that he has _committed to_ JAIL as a runaway 'a _little_ negro AGED ABOUT SEVEN YEARS.'

In the "Mobile Advertiser," Sept. 13, 1838, WILLIAM MAGEE, Sheriff, gives notice that George Walton, Esq. Mayor of the city has _committed_ to JAIL as a runaway slave, Jordan, ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OLD, and the Sheriff proceeds to give notice that if no one claims him the boy will be _sold as a slave_ to pay jail fees.

In the "Memphis (Tenn.) Gazette," May 2, 1837, W.H. MONTGOMERY advertises that he will sell at auction a BOY AGED 14, ANOTHER AGED 12, AND A GIRL 10, to pay the debts of their deceased master.

B.F. CHAPMAN, Sheriff, Natchitoches (La.) advertises in the 'Herald,' of May 17, 1837, that he has "_committed to_ JAIL, as a runaway a negro boy BETWEEN 11 AND 12 YEARS OF AGE."

In the "Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle," Feb. 13, 1838. R.H. JONES, jailor, says, "Brought to _jail_ a negro _woman_ Sarah, she is about 60 or 65 _years old_."

In the "Winchester Virginian," August 8, 1837, Mr. R.H. MENIFEE, offers ten dollars reward to any one who will catch and lodge in jail, Abram and Nelly, _about_ 60 _years old_, so that he can get them again.

J. SNOWDEN, Jailor, Columbia, S.C. gives notice in the "Telescope," Nov, 18, 1837, that he has committed to jail as a runaway slave, "_Caroline fifty years of age_."

Y.S. PICKARD, Jailor, Savannah, Georgia, gives notice in the "Georgian," June 22, 1837, that he has taken up for a runaway and lodged in jail Charles, 60 _years of age_.

In the Savannah "Georgian," April 12, 1837, Mr. J. CUYLER, says he will give five dollars, to anyone who will catch and bring back to him "Saman, _an old negro man, and grey, and has only one eye_."

In the "Macon (Ga.) Telegraph," Jan. 15, 1839, MESSRS. T. AND L. NAPIER, advertise for sale Nancy, a woman 65 _years of age_, and Peggy, a woman 65 _years of age_.

The following is from the "Columbian (Ga.) Enquirer," March 8, 1838.

"$25 REWARD.--Ranaway, a Negro Woman named MATILDA, aged about 30 or 35 years. Also, on the same night, a Negro Fellow of small size, VERY AGED, _stoop-shouldered_, who walks VERY DECREPIDLY, is supposed to have gone off. His name is DAVE, and he has claimed Matilda for wife. It may be they have gone off together.

"I will give twenty-five dollars for the woman, delivered to me in Muscogee county, or confined in any jail so that I can get her. MOSES BUTT."

J.B. RANDALL, Jailor, Cobb (Co.) Georgia, advertises an old negro man, in the "Milledgeville Recorder," Nov. 6, 1838.

"A NEGRO MAN, has been lodged in the common jail of this county, who says his name is JUPITER. He _has lost all his front teeth above and below--speaks very indistinctly, is very lame, so that he can hardly walk_."

Rev. CHARLES STEWART RENSHAW, of Quincy, Illinois, who spent some time in slave states, speaking of his residence in Kentucky, says:--

"One Sabbath morning, whilst riding to meeting near Burlington, Boone Co. Kentucky, in company with Mr. Willis, a teacher of sacred music and a member of the Presbyterian Church, I was startled at mingled shouts and screams, proceeding from an old log house, some distance from the road side. As we passed it, some five or six boys from 12 to 15 years of age, came out, some of them cracking whips, followed by two colored boys crying. I asked Mr. W. what the scene meant. 'Oh,' he replied, 'those boys have been whipping the niggers; that is the way we bring slaves into subjection in Kentucky--we let the children beat them.' The boys returned again into the house, and again their shouting and stamping was heard, but ever and anon a scream of agony that would not be drowned, rose above the uproar; thus they continued till the sounds were lost in the distance."

Well did Jefferson say, that the children of slaveholders are 'NURSED, EDUCATED, AND DAILY EXERCISED IN TYRANNY.'

The 'protection' thrown around a mother's yearnings, and the helplessness of childhood by the 'public opinion' of slaveholders, is shown by _thousands_ of advertisements of which the following are samples.

From the "New Orleans Bulletin," June 2.

"NEGROES FOR SALE.--A negro woman 21 years of age, and has two children, one eight and the other three years. Said negroes will be sold SEPARATELY or together _as desired_. The woman is a good seamstress. She will be sold low for cash, or _exchanged_ for GROCERIES. For terms apply to MAYHEW BLISS, & CO. 1 Front Levee."

From the "Georgia Journal," Nov. 7.

"TO BE SOLD--One negro girl about 18 _months old_, belonging to the estate of William Chambers, dec'd. Sold for the purpose of _distribution!!_ JETHRO DEAN, SAMUEL BEALL, Ex'ors."

From the "Natchez Courier," April 2, 1838.

"NOTICE--Is hereby given that the undersigned pursuant to a certain Deed of Trust will on Thursday the 12th day of April next, expose to sale at the Court House, to the highest bidder for cash, the following Negro slaves, to wit; Fanny, aged about 28 years; Mary, aged about 7 years; Amanda, aged about 3 months; Wilson, aged about 9 months.

Said slaves, to be sold for the satisfaction of the debt secured in said Deed of Trust. W.J. MINOR."

From the "Milledgeville Journal," Dec. 26, 1837.

"EXECUTOR'S SALE.

"Agreeable to an order of the court of Wilkinson county, will be sold on the first Tuesday in April next, before the Court-house door in the town of Irwington, ONE NEGRO GIRL _about two years old_, named Rachel, belonging to the estate of William Chambers dec'd. Sold _for the benefit_ of the heirs and creditors of said estate.

SAMUEL BELL, JESSE PEACOCK, Ex'ors."

From the "Alexandria (D.C.) Gazette" Dec. 19.

"I will give the highest cash price for likely negroes, _from 10 to 25 years of age_.

GEO. KEPHART."

From the "Southern Whig," March 2, 1838.--

"WILL be sold in La Grange, Troup county, one negro girl, by the name of Charity, aged about 10 or 12 years; as the property of Littleton L. Burk, to satisfy a mortgage fi. fa. from Troup Inferior Court, in favor of Daniel S. Robertson vs. said Burk."

From the "Petersburgh (Va.) Constellation," March 18, 1837.

"50 _Negroes wanted immediately_.--The subscriber will give a good market price for fifty likely negroes, _from 10 to 30 years of age_.

HENRY DAVIS."

The following is an extract of a letter from a gentleman, a native and still a resident of one of the slave states, and _still a slaveholder_. He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church, his letter is now before us, and his name is with the Executive Committee of the Am. Anti-slavery Society.

"Permit me to say, that around this very place where I reside, slaves are brought almost constantly, and sold to Miss. and Orleans; that _it is usual_ to part families forever by such sales--the parents from the children and the children from the parents, of every size and age. A mother was taken not long since, in this town, from a _sucking child_, and sold to the lower country. Three young men I saw some time ago taken from this place in chains--while the mother of one of them, old and decrepid, _followed with tears and prayers her son, 18 or 20 miles, and bid him a final farewell_! O, thou Great Eternal, is this justice! is this equity!!--Equal Rights!!"

We subjoin a few miscellaneous facts illustrating the INHUMANITY of slaveholding 'public opinion.'

The shocking indifference manifested at the death of slaves as _human beings_, contrasted with the grief at their loss _as property_, is a true index to the public opinion of slaveholders.

Colonel Oliver of Louisville, lost a valuable race-horse by the explosion of the steamer Oronoko, a few months since on the Mississippi river. Eight human beings whom he held as slaves were also killed by the explosion. They were the riders and grooms of his race-horses. A Louisville paper thus speaks of the occurrence:

"Colonel Oliver suffered severely by the explosion of the Oronoko. He lost _eight_ of his rubbers and riders, and his horse, Joe Kearney, which he had sold the night before for $3,000."

Mr. King, of the New York American, makes the following just comment on the barbarity of the above paragraph:

"Would any one, in reading this paragraph from an evening paper, conjecture that these '_eight_ rubbers and riders,' that together with a horse, are merely mentioned as a 'loss' to their owner, were human beings--immortal as the writer who thus brutalizes them, and perhaps cherishing life as much? In this view, perhaps, the 'eight' lost as much as Colonel Oliver."

The following is from the "Charleston (S.C.) Patriot," Oct. 18.

"_Loss of Property_!--Since I have been here, (Rice Hope, N. Santee,) I have seen much misery, and much of human suffering. The loss of PROPERTY has been immense, not only on South Santee, but also on this river. Mr. Shoolbred has lost, (according to the statement of the physician,) forty-six negroes--the majority lost being the _primest hands_ he had--bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths and Coopers. Mr. Wm. Mazyck has lost 35 negroes. Col. Thomas Pinkney, in the neighborhood of 40, and many other planters, 10 to 20 on each plantation. Mrs. Elias Harry, adjoining the plantation of Mr. Lucas, has lost up to date, 32 negroes--the _best part of her primest_ negroes on her plantation."

From the "Natchez (Miss.) Daily Free Trader," Feb. 12, 1838.

"_Found_.--A NEGRO'S HEAD WAS PICKED UP ON THE RAIL-ROAD YESTERDAY, WHICH THE OWNER CAN HAVE BY CALLING AT THIS OFFICE AND PAYING FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT."

The way in which slaveholding 'public opinion' protects a poor female lunatic is illustrated in the following advertisement in the "Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer," June 27, 1838:

"Taken and committed to jail, a negro girl named Nancy, who is supposed to belong to Spencer P. Wright, of the State of Georgia. She is about 30 years of age, and is a LUNATIC. The owner is requested to come forward, prove property, pay charges, and take her away, or SHE WILL BE SOLD TO PAY HER JAIL FEES.

FRED'K HOME, Jailor."

A late PROSPECTUS Of the South Carolina Medical College, located in Charleston, contains the following passage:--

"Some advantages of a _peculiar_ character are connected with this Institution, which it may be proper to point out. No place in the United States offers as great opportunities for the acquisition of anatomical knowledge, SUBJECTS BEING OBTAINED FROM AMONG THE COLORED POPULATION IN SUFFICIENT NUMBER FOR EVERY PURPOSE, AND PROPER DISSECTIONS CARRIED ON WITHOUT OFFENDING ANY INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY!!"

_Without offending any individuals in the community_! More than half the population of Charleston, we believe, is 'colored;' _their_ graves may be ravaged, their dead may be dug up, dragged into the dissecting room, exposed to the gaze, heartless gibes, and experimenting knives, of a crowd of inexperienced operators, who are given to understand in the prospectus, that, if they do not acquire manual dexterity in dissection, it will be wholly their own fault, in neglecting to improve the unrivalled advantages afforded by the institution--since each can have as many human bodies as he pleases to experiment upon--and as to the fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters, of those whom they cut to pieces from day to day, why, they are not 'individuals in the community,' but 'property,' and however _their_ feelings may be tortured, the 'public opinion' of slaveholders is entirely too 'chivalrous' to degrade itself by caring for them!

The following which has been for some time a standing advertisement of the South Carolina Medical College, in the Charleston papers, is another index of the same 'public opinion' toward slaves. We give an extract:--

"_Surgery of the Medical College of South Carolina, Queen st_.--The Faculty inform their professional brethren, and the public that they have established a _Surgery_, at the Old College, Queen street, FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEGROES, which will continue in operation, during the session of the College, say from first November, to the fifteenth of March ensuing.

"The _object_ of the Faculty, in opening this Surgery, is to collect as _many interesting cases_, as possible, for the _benefit_ and _instruction_ of their pupils--at the same time, they indulge the hope, that it may not only prove an _accommodation_, but also a matter of economy to the public. They would respectfully call the attention of planters, living in the vicinity of the city, to this subject; particularly such as may have servants laboring under Surgical diseases. Such _persons of color_ as may not be able to pay for Medical advice, will be attended to gratis, at stated hours, as often as may be necessary.

"The Faculty take this opportunity of soliciting the co-operation of such of their professional brethren, as are favorable to their objects."

"The first thing that strikes the reader of the advertisement is, that this _Surgery_ is established exclusively 'for the treatment of _negroes_; and, if he knows little of the hearts of slaveholders towards their slaves, he charitably supposes, that they 'feel the dint of pity,' for the poor sufferers and have founded this institution as a special charity for their relief. But the delusion vanishes as he reads on; the professors take special care that no such derogatory inference shall be drawn from their advertisement. They give us the three reasons which have induced them to open this 'Surgery for the treatment of negroes.' The first and main one is, 'to collect as many _interesting cases_ as possible for the benefit and instruction of their _pupils_--another is, 'the hope that it may prove an _accommodation_,'--and the third, that it may be 'a matter of economy to the _public_' Another reason, doubtless, and controlling one, though the professors are silent about it, is that a large collection of 'interesting surgical cases,' always on hand, would prove a powerful attraction to students, and greatly increase the popularity of the institution. In brief, then, the motives of its founders, the professors, were these, the accommodation of their _students_--the accommodation of the _public_ (which means, _the whites_)--and the accommodation of slaveholders who have on their hands disabled slaves, that would make 'interesting cases,' for surgical operation in the presence of the pupils--to these reasons we may add the accommodation of the Medical Institution and the accommodation of _themselves_! Not a syllable about the _accommodation_ of the hopeless sufferers, writhing with the agony of those gun shot wounds, fractured sculls, broken limbs and ulcerated backs which constitute the 'interesting cases' for the professors to 'show off' before their pupils, and, as practice makes perfect, for the students themselves to try their hands at by way of experiment.

Why, we ask, was this surgery established 'for the treatment of _negroes'_ alone? Why were these 'interesting cases' selected from that class exclusively? No man who knows the feeling of slave holders towards slaves will be at a loss for the reason. 'Public opinion' would tolerate surgical experiments, operations, processes, performed upon them, which it would execrate if performed upon their master or other whites. As the great object in collecting the disabled negroes is to have 'interesting cases' for the students, the professors who perform the operations will of course endeavor to make them as 'interesting' as possible. The _instruction of the student_ is the immediate object, and if the professors can accomplish it best by _protracting_ the operation, pausing to explain the different processes, &c. the subject is only a negro, and what is his protracted agony, that it should restrain the professor from making the case as 'interesting' as possible to the students by so using his knife as will give them the best knowledge of the parts, and the process, however it may protract or augment the pain of the subject. The _end_ to be accomplished is the _instruction_ of the student, operations upon the negroes are the _means_ to the end; _that_ tells the whole story--and he who knows the hearts of slaveholders and has common sense, however short the allowance, can find the way to his conclusions without a lantern.

By an advertisement of the same Medical Institution, dated November 12, 1838, and published in the Charleston papers, it appears that an 'infirmary has been opened in connection with the college.' The professors manifest a great desire that the masters of servants should send in their disabled slaves, and as an inducement to the furnishing of such _interesting cases_ say, all medical and surgical aid will be offered _without making them liable to any professional charges_. Disinterested bounty, pity, sympathy, philanthropy. However difficult or numerous the surgical cases of slaves thus put into their hands by the masters, they charge not a cent for their _professional services_. Their yearnings over human distress are so intense, that they beg the privilege of performing all operations, and furnishing all the medical attention needed, _gratis_, feeling that the relief of misery is its own reward!!! But we have put down our exclamation points too soon--upon reading the whole of the advertisement we find the professors conclude it with the following paragraph:--

"The SOLE OBJECT Of the faculty in the establishment of such an institution being to promote the interest of Medical Education within their native State and City."